DIY

REDOING LIGHT FIXTURES: 

A couple months ago I decided to redo all of the lighting fixtures in my home. 

They were sinfully ugly... 

But, because it's a rental home and I was working on a limited budget... I decided to opt for a more cost effective plan... so, instead of replacing all the light fixtures, I painted them. 

Here are some before and after photos and a brief explanation of how to do this... 

I removed the blades from the main body of the fan... I was pleased to see that the flip side of the blades was smooth, instead of having that wicker inlay...
I took the blades off and scrubbed everything with an SOS pad to remove dust, dirt and build up... 

Next... I taped the entire ceiling with painter's tape and paper... I covered the floor and furniture with drop cloths and old shower curtains. 
Then came the fun part! 
Spray paint... Make sure to do this with all the windows open and use fans to bring in fresh air and ventilate the room. Also, make sure to wear a painter's mask and goggles. Safety first!! 
I spray painted the "body" directly in the room... and then the blades and accessories outside... 
I used Rustoleum brand paint and it worked wonderfully. 

Before! 

On this fan I used Rustoleum Gun Metal Gray for the main part of the fan.
And "Leather Brown" satin spray paint for the blades.. 

After! 

This fan was in my living room.. I particularly loved the hummingbird pulls.... (I forgot to take a picture before I had already removed one of the blades..)
I used left over gunmetal gray Rustoleum paint and brown leather satin spray paint for the blades...
Both this fan and the fan in my bedroom cost me about $15 for both. 

This ugly (and super dirty) beast was in my kitchen...
To repaint it... I used Rustoleum Bright Metal spray paint (which comes out looking like brushed nickel) on the main part... and Paint plus Primer in satin white on the blades. I also replaced the light globes, which cost about $5 each. All in all this fan ended up costing about $25 

This chandelier was in my dining room. 
Yes it was peach.
Yes those are horrific light globes. 
I used the same Gun Metal Gray Rustoleum spray paint on this that I used on the first two ceiling fans.
You'll see in the "after" photo that I did get some overspray on the ceiling... I have since covered that with matching paint, so you can't even tell. 

The new light globes I ordered from Amazon for $3 each with free shipping. They're smaller than the ones I used on the kitchen fan, but they're just as pretty and worked perfectly for the chandelier. 
Total cost for this light fixture was about $20 

I'm sure there's stuff I left out or forgot to mention... if you have ANY questions please let me know! I'd also love to see some of your home lighting before and after pics! 
Thanks, Carly